The present invention relates generally to an electronic camera and more particularly to a technique for effectively using an internal space within an electronic camera.
In the case of an electronic camera using a photoelectric conversion image-pickup element such as a CCD element, the optical axis for image pickup can be deflected because there is no restriction due to a film, unlike the case of a silver-salt film camera. From this standpoint, such a technique has been proposed that the image-pickup optical axis is deflected and an image-pickup face of the image-pickup element is inclined so that the length of the optical path for image pickup may be decreased and the dimension (thickness) of the electronic camera in its front-and-rear direction may be reduced. (See, e.g. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/145,540 filed on Sep. 2, 1998.)
There is an increasing demand for the reduction in size of the electronic camera, and the problem faced by apparatus designers is how to effectively use the limited spaced within the camera housing. In the case of the electronic camera of the above-mentioned type wherein the image-pickup face is inclined, however, a circuit board for mounting the image-pickup element is situated at an angle to the bottom surface of the housing. Consequently, a plurality of circuit boards cannot be arranged in a stacked manner. As has been described above, in the case of a electronic camera having a deflected optical system, the shape of the imaging optical system, which constitutes the main mechanism of the camera, greatly differs from the shape of an imaging optical system forming a linear optical system. It is thus required that the parts of the electronic camera be arranged more properly.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problem, and its object is to provide an electronic camera having a deflected optical system, wherein the space within a camera housing is effectively used and the size of the camera can be reduced.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera comprising:
an imaging optical system for taking in a light beam from a subject along a first optical axis, deflecting the light beam along a second optical axis crossing the first optical axis, and focusing the light beam;
an image-pickup element for receiving the light beam focused by the imaging optical system, photoelectrically converting the light beam, and thus acquiring image data;
a first circuit board on which the image-pickup element is mounted; and
a housing containing the image-pickup element and the first circuit board,
wherein the first circuit board is disposed to extend in a plane oblique to a bottom surface of the housing, and an electronic component is disposed in a space defined between the first circuit board and the bottom surface of the housing.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera comprising:
an imaging optical system for taking in a light beam from a subject along a first optical axis, deflecting the light beam along a second optical axis crossing the first optical axis, and focusing the light beam;
an image-pickup element for receiving the light beam focused by the imaging optical system, photoelectrically converting the light beam, and thus acquiring image data;
a first circuit board on which the image-pickup element is mounted;
a second circuit board disposed on a side of the first circuit board, which is opposite to a side where the imaging optical system is provided;
an electronic component situated between the first circuit board and the second circuit board and mounted on the second circuit board; and
a housing containing the image-pickup element, the first circuit board, the second circuit board and the electronic component, the second circuit board being disposed to extend in a plane substantially parallel to a bottom surface of the housing between the first circuit board and the bottom surface of the housing.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera comprising:
an imaging optical system for taking in a light beam from a subject along a first optical axis, deflecting the light beam along a second optical axis crossing the first optical axis, and focusing the light beam;
an image-pickup element for receiving the light beam focused by the imaging optical system, photoelectrically converting the light beam, and thus acquiring image data;
a first circuit board on which the image-pickup element is mounted, the first circuit board extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the second optical axis;
a housing containing the image-pickup element and the first circuit board, the housing having a bottom surface and a rear surface, the first optical axis extending substantially in parallel to the bottom surface of the housing and substantially perpendicular to the rear surface of the housing; and
an electronic component disposed in a space defined among the bottom surface of the housing, the rear surface of the housing and the first circuit board, the electronic component being selected from a group consisting of an input/output terminal for detachably attaching a cable for electrical connection with an external device, a condenser for flashing a strobe, and a recording medium interface for detachably attaching a memory for recording image data.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic camera comprising:
an imaging optical system for taking in a light beam from a subject along a first optical axis, deflecting the light beam along a second optical axis crossing the first optical axis, and focusing the light beam;
an image-pickup element for receiving the light beam focused by the imaging optical system, photoelectrically converting the light beam, and thus acquiring image data;
a first circuit board on which the image-pickup element is mounted, the first circuit board extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the second optical axis;
a second circuit board disposed on a side of the first circuit board, which is opposite to a side where the imaging optical system is provided, the second circuit board extending in a plain which is substantially perpendicular to a plain including the first and second axes and is substantially parallel to the first optical axis;
an electronic component disposed between the first and second circuit boards, the electronic component being selected from a group consisting of an input/output terminal for detachably attaching a cable for electrical connection with an external device, a condenser for flashing a strobe, and a recording medium interface for detachably attaching a memory for recording image data; and
a housing containing the image-pickup element, the first circuit board, the second circuit board and the electronic component.
According to the present invention, an electronic component, such as an input/output terminal for detachably attaching a cable for electrical connection with an external device, can be disposed by making effective use of a space formed when a circuit board for mounting an image-pickup element is provided.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.